


All The Things We Never Said

by gaylinda_of_the_upper_uplands



Series: All The Things We Never Said [1]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Autistic Character, F/F, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Panic Attacks, Slurs (briefly)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-22 08:54:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19664029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaylinda_of_the_upper_uplands/pseuds/gaylinda_of_the_upper_uplands
Summary: “Are you okay?” At first, she couldn’t answer, having never seen Parr be so direct about emotions in the whole time she’d known her.“What?” Jane tilted her head in confusion, “Of course.” Catherine hummed softly in response.“You’re lying."-----“I really do care about you.” Catherine’s voice was quiet, almost as if she was ashamed to say it.“Don’t fucking play with me,” Anne snapped at her, turning away, “You’ve done enough already.”“I can’t shy away from the truth, Anne.”-----Anna gripped her shoulders to stop her, pushing her away. Katherine looked confused for a moment, eyes once again filling with tears.“Don’t you want me?”“I do, love. But you don’t want it. Not right now.”





	1. Chapter 1

Jane stood at the front door, shivering despite her many layers of jumpers. Some of which she may have stolen from Aragon, who, uncharacteristically, was still inside, running late like the other girls. The cool chill of evening air sent a shiver down her spine as she reorganised her things and checked her purse one last time. She was about to call and ask them all to hurry up- they had organised a time to meet out the front days ago, after all- when a loud thump came from within the house, followed by a curse.

“Language!” The blonde stuck her head in the door to see Parr bent over among a large mess of books. Giving a heavy sigh, she walked back inside, gently shutting the door behind her. “Are you really planning on bringing all of these? I thought you finished packing last night?” Catherine gave her a sheepish look, avoiding eye contact.

“I was hoping you had some extra room in your bag.” Jane was about to refuse, exhausted already from the long wait for the queens to get ready. Sensing this, Catherine gave her a small smile, the right side of her mouth raising a bit higher than the left, accentuating her dimples. 

“Fine. Just this one time,” Jane rearranged the pile they had made and brought them to her things, still waiting on the porch. “Go get the others, will you?” Parr immediately nodded, scrambling back up the stairs and to the lounge room, where Aragon and Cleves were leaning against each other, chatting while watching TV. 

“Guys? We’re running late.” Parr started, grabbing the remote and switching off the TV. “Jane will literally kill us if we take any longer.” 

“You worry too much, Cathy, there’s still hours before the flight,” Aragon responded, pulling herself up off the couch and gathering her bags. Anna nodded her head in agreement, but followed suit and gathered her things.

“Yeah, the taxi won’t even get here for another ten minutes,” She said, even as she crossed the hall to start making her way down the stairs, not particularly wanting to see Jane mad. Or Parr, for that matter.

“Is there anyone else we’re missing?” Aragon asked Parr as she headed towards the door.

“Just the cousins.” Parr took a deep breath before making her way to Anne’s room, praying the girl was packed so they could get moving. She knocked gently. “Anne? Are you ready yet? We’re leaving in a minute.”

The door opened immediately, Anne giving Parr a smile before presenting her unnatural clean and organised room. “Yep. I’ll go get Kitty and meet you downstairs.”

Parr nodded, checking the time on her watch as she made her way to the front door. Three minutes until the taxi arrived. They’d somehow made it.

——-

The six of them arrived at the airport with a couple hours until the flight. None of the queens had flown before, so they were taking a trip together to France as a holiday from the show while they moved theatres. A couple of them already knew the language (albeit practically ancient versions, but still), and Anne was eager to see how the place had changed since she had lived there. The flight was also quite short, so they figured it was a good place to start. They would do a real holiday across Europe at some point in the future, if this trip went well. Everything was going to plan, until they reached the security line.

“Excuse me, miss, but you’re going to have to remove all of your jewellery.” Anne looked over to Jane, confused about what the woman meant.

“I already did?” She questions the lady, as Jane, sensing what was to come, moved forward to place a hand on her back.

“The choker, love,” she whispers in Anne’s ear quietly. The muscles beneath Jane’s hand tensed for a moment before they started quivering. Anne managed to keep a somewhat straight face, reaching out shakily to clutch Jane’s unoccupied hand. 

By this point the others had taken notice of the situation, Katherine clinging desperately to Parr’s arm as she tried to steady her breathing in anticipation of her turn. She attempted a reassuring smile in Anne’s direction, but it turned into more of a pained grimace. Noticing Anne’s sudden silence, and the rapidly growing crowd behind them, Jane squeezed Anne’s hand gently before slowly reaching up to the back of her neck. 

“I’m going to take it off now, okay? It’ll just be for a moment, then you can put it back on.” Anne gave a slow nod of her head at Jane’s reassurances, shutting her fluttering eyes and trying to take deep breaths that ended up ragged and caught in her throat. “I’m right here, love.” 

Jane had removed the choker and placed it with the rest of their belongings. She moved her hands back to Anne’s hair, moving it to cover the thin, silvery scar from her death hundreds of years ago. “It’s okay, Anne. It’s barely even noticeable.” Anne gave a small nod at this, but stood close to Jane for the rest of the security line, trying to resist the urge to wrap her hands around her neck. 

At the far end of the line of queens, Katherine was attempting to calm herself down. The others could sense a panic attack incoming, so Parr and Anna coached her through her breathing techniques while they waited her turn. Aragon had taken the job of organising their belongings on the conveyer, struggling with the several trays she was trying to push but knowing everyone was too preoccupied to be of any help. As they got closer to the front of the line, Anna tried to talk Katherine into removing the choker. 

“No,” was Katherine’s only response, her voice quiet.

“Kat, if you don’t take it off, they may have to do a pat down,” Catherine told her, knowing it would freak her out even more, but that she would immediately take the choker off. Katherine shook her head vigorously at this prospect. 

“Is it okay if I take it off now?” Anna asked gently, reaching up to the back of Katherine’s neck. A small nod was the only response. As soon as the choker was gone, Catherine undid Katherine’s ponytail, bringing the hair around her front to cover the scar. 

“No-one has to see it if you don’t want them to, Katherine.” Parr gave her shoulder a small, encouraging squeeze, before leading her to the metal detector and across to where the other queens were now waiting.

“Anyone hungry?” Aragon asked, laughing slightly at the excited chorus of ‘yes’ she received, despite the few tears on the cousins’ faces. She pulled out her purse, giving twenty dollars to each of the queens. “Don’t forget to buy some Mentos or something for the flight, okay?” Katherine, Anne and Anna immediately headed off in search of some lollies, leaving the other queens behind. 

“Coffee, anyone? I feel like we’re going to need it,” laughed Parr, taking Jane and Catherine’s hands and pulling them over to the nearest café.

—–

“Why am I next to her?” Aragon muttered as Jane handed her their boarding passes. They had just gotten through security, and tensions were running high as one of the staff questioned their passports (a lot of documents had to be forged in the making of them, obviously no-one knew they were 500 years old). Thankfully, they had gotten through okay.

“Because I need to keep an eye on Catherine, and someone needs to look after the cousins.”

“Couldn’t Anna have done that?”

“You know just as well as I do that if Anne freaked out she’d have no clue what to do-especially if Katherine was upset too.” Catherine gave a huff at this, clearly not excited at the idea of sitting next to the loudest member of their group for two hours. “Plus, Anna will just listen to her music the whole flight or something quiet. Unlike the cousins over there.” Jane nodded her head to where Katherine and Anne sat a couple of tables over, laughing their heads off at something Parr had said. “We can’t have Cathy getting too overwhelmed before we even arrive.”

“Fair point,” Aragon agreed, supposing Jane’s reasoning was good enough. For the time being, that is. The second a fight broke out between them she was swapping seats.

—–

The moment the turbulence began, Parr turned her noise cancelling headphones off and got out her earmuffs, knowing exactly how the other queens would react.

“We’re all going to die!’ Anne screeched far too loudly, causing Parr to flinch slightly, as the plane dipped. Jane looked over between Parr and Anne worriedly, smiling at how the latter clutched onto Katherine’s hand.

“You’re such a fucking dumbass,” Aragon hit Anne’s arm, already over her dramatic attitude this holiday. “Stop annoying the rest of the passengers.”

“It’s just turbulence, love, it won’t last long,” Jane tried to calm Anne down as best she could from the other side of the isle. Unfortunately, the word turbulence seemed to freak Anne out even more. 

“What’s that?!” Her eyes were more panicked now. 

“It’ll just be bumpy for a bit,” Anna responded, rolling her eyes. “No-one’s going to die.” Anne at least had the decency to look bashful at this.

“Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s all right, Anne, you didn’t know.” Jane tried to make her feel less embarrassed to no avail.

“Still.” Anne settled back into her seat, remaining relatively calm for the rest of the flight, though she stayed holding tightly onto her baby cousin’s hand. Just in case, she told herself.


	2. Chapter 2

“What the fuck, Jane?” Anne grumbled as they waited in the hotel lobby. “We go on this fancy ass trip to France and we only book three rooms?” Jane sighed in response, looking over at Aragon for some support. Unfortunately, sensing the impending argument, Catherine had hurriedly made her way over to Cleves to avoid the conversation.

“We do have a budget, you know. Not like any of us are queens in this lifetime.” Not wanting to admit Jane was right, Anne frowned slightly but kept quiet.

“You will get your own bed,” Parr added from Jane’s other side, hoping to relieve some of Anne’s anger and barely concealed anxiety about the situation. She looked much more relaxed at this reassurance.

“Room 788, 789 and 790,” one of the staff members said, handing the keys to Anna and directing them to the elevator, “788 is the twin singles, 790 has the king bed.”

“Dibs 790!” Anna said, reaching out to grab Katherine’s arm and tossing the other keys in Anne’s direction. Within moments Katherine and Anna had grabbed their luggage, squeezed in the already packed lift and headed off to their room. Parr gave a heavy sigh, looking in Jane’s direction.

“I feel like we deserve the king bed, don’t you?” Jane nodded in agreement, grabbing the handle of her suitcase and dragging it along to wait for the next lift.

“There weren’t many rooms left with how late we booked, and we should have known they’d take it as soon as they knew. But yes, it wasn’t meant for those two.” With a ding, the door to the elevator opened, and the remaining four queens jammed themselves inside.

“Sorry you two have to share, I did try to split you up but there were no single rooms available.” Anne nodded slightly to show she’d heard, trying to avoid looking at Aragon in fear of annoying her.

“It’s fine, really, Jane,” Aragon replied, giving a soft smile. “We don’t get along that badly.” Slightly skeptical, Parr raised her eyebrows but kept quiet. There was silence the rest of the ride.

——

Heaving the door open, Catherine gasped as she dragged all of the bags into the room, looking at the double bed with a pang of anxiety. Jane followed close behind, shutting the door behind her and heading over to open the curtains.

“Great view, don’t you think?” She asked Parr with a smile. Catherine didn’t really care for it, knowing she would spend the majority of her time reading, but didn’t have the heart t say no in the face of Jane’s enthusiasm.

“Yeah,” she said slightly breathlessly, a dorky grin appearing on her face. Jane smiled softly, heading over to their bags to begin unpacking.

“We’ve got a couple hours until we’ll meet the girls for dinner, how about you have a quick nap? You look dead tired after that flight.” Parr’s only response was a muffled yawn. Jane laughed at this, pulling her over to the bed.

“Sleep. I’ll wake you up later.” Parr gave a small smile, falling asleep soon after her head hit the pillow. Jane leaned down to brush some hair out of Cathy’s face, giving her a kiss on the cheek as she did so. She sat down on the edge of the bed, absentmindedly stroking Parr’s hair. Jane was absolutely lost in thought. The day had been long, and the flight, though only a couple of hours, felt like an eternity. It was an exciting experience for some of the queens, namely Katherine and Anna, but the others were left exhausted.

Jane smiled at the thought. Anna and Katherine always found the positive in things when they were together. The relationship was relatively new, and there had yet to have any formal announcement. It wasn’t really necessary, though; Jane trusted Anna, they would be unlikely to have any talk about it. As long as they were safe and happy, Jane couldn’t care less what they did.

Jane smiled fondly, looking back down at Parr, who was now quietly snoring. She frowned upon noticing the dark bags etched under Catherine’s eyes. When did they get there? She let out a quiet sigh. Catherine never seemed rested. No matter how early she went to bed, it was always the same; waking up at some ungodly time in the morning and seeking out one of the other queens to sleep with. It was usually Aragon, who had gotten quite close to her goddaughter in their second lives. Sometimes, however, Parr sought out Jane.

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, that was always Jane’s favourite moment of the week-early on a Monday morning. They had no shows that day, so Parr would tiptoe into her room and curl up on the end of her bed with a book until she passed out from sheer exhaustion. Jane treasured those moments when Catherine could just relax. She didn’t fully understand her condition but could see firsthand how hard the demands of their lives were on her. She’d always be asleep by sunrise, when Jane would wake up.

She would guard over Catherine protectively, shooing away any of the other queens if they got too close or made too much noise. Catherine would move around a lot, and usually ended up with her head in Jane’s lap, the older queen stroking her hair as she read a book, occasionally aloud at Parr’s request. Her heart fluttered as she remembered how last week, Catherine had crawled into bed with her, hugging her close. She blushed just thinking about it.

Feeling a sudden bout of nausea, Jane quickly stood up, about to head to the bathroom. But this felt different-not like she was going to actually be sick. She slowly made her way over to sit on the armchair in the corner of the room. Confused about what had her feeling this way, she tried to organise her scrambled thoughts.

Her stomach dropped at her eventual realisation. She had feelings for her best friend. And not just that, they were sisters-in-law. No. She shook her head as she started to tear up. No way in hell would Catherine even begin to think the same way. She loved Thomas, after all. Fucking Thomas, of all people. Curling herself into a ball, she closed her eyes to rest, struggling to sleep with the abundance of confusing thoughts swirling around in her mind.

——

“Anna,” Katherine whined, tossing her phone down on the bedside table and rolling out of the bed. “I’m hungry.” Anna gave a soft groan as she opened her eyes, squinting up at Kat.

“I though Jane was gonna come get us?” She asked, siting up and raising her arms over her head to stretch.

“She’s like half an hour late.”

“Why don’t you go find her and Parr, and I’ll go down with Aragon and Boleyn after I’m dressed?” Katherine nodded her head at this, grabbing her purse and giving Anna a kiss on the cheek as she left.

“See you soon!” Katherine walked across the hall to Jane’s room, knocking softly on the door. After a moment, a groggy looking Catherine appeared.

“Hey kid, what’re you here for?”

“Dinner, silly,” Katherine smiled brightly, “Don’t you remember?” She stepped around Parr and into the room, hearing only a quiet grumble in response. Upon seeing Jane, however, her mood dampened. “What’s wrong with Mum?” She asked, concerned. Parr turned to follow Katherine’s gaze, looking shocked at Jane’s state, having not even noticed her as she tumbled out of bed.

“I…I don’t know.” Katherine set her bag down, heading over to Jane, shaking her arm gently to wake her.

“Mum? What’s wrong?” Jane’s face was red and splotchy from crying, hair slick and sticking to her cheeks and neck where her tears had pooled. When she lifted her head, Catherine gave a small gasp, rushing over to her side.

“Jane? Are you okay?” Catherine clutched Jane’s hand, concerned about her friend. There was a panicked look in Jane’s eyes for a moment before she quickly jerked her hand away, rejecting Parr’s attempts at comfort.

“I’m fine,” she said quietly, avoiding eye contact with Catherine. What the fuck just happened? Parr thought, as the familiar burning sensation of incoming tears stung her eyes. Hurt at Jane’s actions, Catherine backed away, as a confused Katherine gave her a worried look.

“I’ll meet you guys down there,” Catherine grabbed her purse and phone, nearly knocking over a stack of books as she rushed out the door of the room. Katherine felt compelled to stop her, but knew that at this moment Jane’s distress was the biggest issue.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” with a flick of her hair, Katherine turned back to the blonde queen, staring into her eyes to let her know she wasn’t escaping this interrogation.

“Nothing,” Jane mumbled as she stood up and fixed her hair, “Nothing I can’t handle.” Katherine didn’t believe it for a second, placing her hand gently on Jane’s arm.

“Will you talk to me later about it?” Silently thanking the youngest queen’s empathy, Jane gave a small nod. “Then let’s get you fixed up.” Katherine dragged her over to the bathroom, grabbing a cloth to clean her face as she pulled out Jane’s makeup bag to cover up the tell-tale signs of her crying.

——

The dinner was probably one of the most awkward experience the queens had ever had together. Not wanting to betray Jane’s sense of trust, Howard and Parr didn’t say anything about the situation, though it was clear they knew what had happened. Anna, too, kept looking at Jane and Catherine suspiciously, calculated eyes trying to figure out what went down in the room across the hall while she was getting ready. Even Anne wasn’t completely oblivious, picking up on the uncomfortable vibe of the group the moment she joined them at the table. Aragon had remained talking for most of the meal, trying to keep up conversation to prevent them from descending into silence. 

Having come down first, Parr didn’t have much of a choice in the seating arrangement. Unfortunately for the both of them, the only remaining seat by the time Jane arrived was directly opposite her. Twice throughout the meal, Catherine had spilt her drink on her dress, hands shaking and causing her cutlery to rattle as she tried to eat. Jane hadn’t made any real attempt to eat at all, and didn’t speak a single word. Parr was uncharacteristically loud, laughing slightly too obnoxiously at the jokes Anne and Katherine made in a painfully obvious attempt to cover up her discomfort.

She had only quietened down when her hand touched Jane’s as they reached for the wine at the same time. As they yanked both of their hands away, the bottle clattered to the table, staining the white tablecloth deep red. From that point onward the meal felt more subdued. After only an hour of broken conversation, the queens called it a night. They headed back to their rooms in a slightly sour mood, the water from Catherine’s dress dripping onto the carpet with each step she took.


	3. Chapter 3

“Do you know what happened to those two? They were like best mates yesterday,” Anna asked Katherine as she flopped onto the king bed in her pyjamas.

“No idea, babe,” Kat called from the bathroom. “Mum looked spooked as hell, wouldn’t let Parr touch her or anything. Cathy looked like she was gonna cry as she left, I don’t know how she survived through that dinner.”

“It’s definitely something between them. Maybe they had an argument?” Anna pondered aloud, lifting her head as Katherine came back into the room and began brushing her hair at the dresser.

“Catherine looked so confused, though. I don’t blame her, really. I was confused too.”

“You said Jane was crying?” Anna questioned.

“Yeah. Like she’d sobbed herself to sleep.”

“Huh.”

\------

Unsurprisingly, the room next door held a similar conversation.

“Something’s up,” Anne stated the moment the door shut behind Aragon.

“Obviously, what else could explain what just happened?”

“What do you think it was?” Anne questioned, curious to hear what Catherine thought.

“Something personal, obviously. If it was anything else they would have had an actual conversation, most likely including at least one of us. Not whatever that was.”

“Personal? Like what kind of personal?”

“How am I supposed to know? I wasn’t there.”

“No, but you know how they act around each other,” Anne’s snarky response was delivered a bit more harshly than necessary.

“Yeah, they’re best friends,” Aragon sighed.

“So, what’s in the room right across from us right now that could disrupt some of that ‘best friends’ dynamic they’ve got going on?” There was a moment of silence from Aragon, followed by a soft gasp.

“No way!” Anne returned Catherine’s grin.

“Give it a few days and they’ll be out of the closet for good.”

\------

Upon entering the hotel room, Catherine headed straight to the bathroom, already kicking off her shoes and unzipping her near-soaked dress. As she went to have her shower, Jane gathered her pyjamas and got changed quickly, aware she only had small shorts and singlets, not having expected to be in such close proximity with anyone else that it would be more appropriate to dress otherwise.

Jane tucked herself into the side of the bed closest to the window, knowing Catherine would prefer to be as far from the light as possible in the morning. She picked up a book off the bedside table, figuring that since she carried a bunch of them in her bag she had every right to actually read one or two. Around halfway into chapter three, Catherine came out of the bathroom in just a towel, having clearly forgotten in her hurry to get out of her dress to bring pyjamas into the bathroom.

Jane flushed deeply as Parr walked over to her bags, pulling out some clothes to wear before heading back into the bathroom. Letting out a long breath, Jane scolded herself. You better not do that again-what if she sees you looking? You’ll disgust her. She loves a man, not you. She loves your brother. Is married to your brother. Fucking Thomas. Jane’s next breath seemed to shake her entire body. She put the book down as softly as she could, turning off her lamp and rolling over to face the window, silently wishing to be anywhere else in that moment.

A minute later, Catherine came out of the bathroom, putting her things away before slowly approaching the bed, hesitating slightly before joining Jane. The bed, though a double, was rather small, leaving barely any space between the two women. Overrun with guilt and confusion, Parr spoke in a soft voice.

“If I did something to make you uncomfortable, I’m sorry Jane. I really am.” Hearing the slight quiver in Catherine’s voice made Jane feel even more guilty. She hunched her shoulders and curled in on herself. Sensing a negative reaction, Parr backed down, remaining silent for the rest of the night.

\------

Jane woke rather early the next morning, feeling incredibly warm. Opening her eyes, she was met with a mess of curls dangerously close to her face. As the rest of her body began to wake, her heart rate sped up. She had evidently rolled over sometime during the night, and ended up with Catherine, small as she was, wrapped in her arms, their legs intertwined under the sheets. Feeling her breathing quicken, Jane tried to calm herself down. Though that was hard when they were both barely even dressed; Catherine having worn just a t shirt and boxers to bed.

Jane figured her best option was to stay where she was. Catherine was a very light sleeper, and if she woke up while Jane was awake, there was no escaping the situation. Giving a sigh, Jane resorted to closing her eyes, trying to ignore the feeling of Catherine’s cool hands up the front her singlet, and her legs wrapped around her thighs. Prepared for a long wait, she gradually slipped back into a slumber.

\------

When Catherine woke up several hours later, she wasn’t expecting her face to be inches away from Jane’s cleavage. Feeling incredibly self-conscious, she prayed Jane hadn’t already woken up, the early riser that she was. Just as she began to worry herself sick, she noticed Jane’s deep and steady breathing. Thank the lord. She planned last night to leave if she woke up first, but the intimacy of their position prevented that.

Horrified at herself for having slipped her hands up Jane’s shirt, Catherine blushed darkly. She knew that if Jane found out she would be incredibly uncomfortable at the inappropriateness of the situation. This is not at all how courting should work, Parr scolded herself as she tried to remain in control of her emotions. You don’t grope her while she’s asleep! The feeling of their legs wrapped around each other and Jane’s hand gently holding onto the curls at the base of her neck became too much for the queen.

Tears ran down her face as she struggled to breathe. Already overwhelmed from the events of the previous evening, Jane’s closeness only made her feel worse. The heat where they were touching burned her skin as she felt her head beginning to spiral and her breathing pick up. In a moment of pure panic, she pushed away from Jane, scrambling off the bed and into the corner of the room, where she rocked herself against the hard walls, digging fingernails of one hand into the soft skin of her legs, the other gripping onto her hair tightly at her skull.

“Cathy? I need you to breathe for me, love.” There it was again. Love. Jane had approached her slowly, keeping a safe distance away. Tears streamed down Parr’s face as high pitched whining sounds escaped from her throat. Her rocking increased in force, her head hitting the wall behind her with a loud thud each time. “Catherine, please,” Jane called out to her, grabbing the hand still scratching her legs and stroking it softly. “Breathe, Cathy.” The touch from Jane helped ground her somewhat, but the aching, prickling sensation in her legs and scalp had not yet subsided.

Without warning, Catherine slid off the wall and onto the carpeted ground, her vocal stims calming as the change in sensation eased the burning. Now, the only noises she made were her usual groan from the back of her throat, and her left hand hitting the floor repetitively. Frustration, Jane noted, having spent long enough with Cathy to recognise the signs, though she wasn’t at all sure what Parr was frustrated about. Rather than speaking to her more, she held Parr’s right hand in her own, moving over to rest against the wall more comfortably, knowing they would be there for a while. The moment Jane stilled, Catherine’s head was in her lap- a silent gesture. Jane’s unoccupied hand reached to the tangled mess of curls that had become Catherine’s hair, pressing her palm flat onto her head and running it in circles with hard pressure.

Around an hour had passed in silence, Catherine still unable to talk, Jane not wanting to bombard her until she had indicated herself that she was ready to move. The groans had since turned into soft, monotonous humming noises, and the hand now twitched on the floor rather than hitting it. Jane texted the other queens, informing them of Catherine’s meltdown. They agreed to reschedule their planned activities for today and instead headed down to the pool. Jane felt her hand being squeezed softly, and looked down at Parr, who still had her eyes glued to the sun outside the window.

“Do you want to get up now, Cathy?” A small nod was the only response Jane got as she pulled her hand away from Catherine’s hair, moving it to her upper back to help her sit up. Jane stood, pulling a somewhat wobbly Parr with her, leading her over to the bathroom sink. Parr remained silent as Jane turned on the tap as cold as it could go, letting Catherine run her hands and forearms under the water.

Jane grabbed a flannel and wiped Catherine’s legs clean of blood. Catherine made no indication of it hurting, worrying Jane slightly. Once she was done, Jane turned the tap off and moved to help Catherine back to bed. “Would you like some new clothes?” Another nod, more vigorous this time. Jane left Parr on the bed and went to fetch her a new shirt and a pair of socks, knowing she wouldn’t be bothered by the rest of her pyjamas. “Need any help?” Jane’s voice was more uncertain this time. Feeling like she was to blame for this, Catherine shook her head. “I’ll wait in the bathroom.” A nod was the only response.

Parr managed to change her socks with no issues, but lifting her arms when they felt as though they were made of lead was a more challenging task. She gave a loud, shrill shriek of frustration as she finally managed to pull the shirt up, only to get it stuck around her head.

“Cathy?” Jane called from the bathroom, aware of her friend’s distress. Parr let out a low groan in response, to which Jane laughed a little. Of course she was refusing help, even though she was undoubtedly stuck in something. A short while later, Catherine knocked loudly on the bedside table and Jane came back into the room. She checked the time on the clock. “Would you like some breakfast, or just wait until lunch? There’s not long left.” Catherine shook her head, reaching out to Jane’s hand and pulling her onto the bed. Catherine snuggled up to her happily this time, despite the awkwardness last night. Jane smiled softly to herself, wrapping Catherine in a strong grip, deciding to give her some time to recollect her thoughts and prepare to speak.


	4. Chapter 4

“Janey?” Parr’s voice sounded weak as she bumped her head against Jane’s forearm. “Lunch.”

“Do you want to get dressed? Or should I go get something for you?”

“You,” Catherine pouted, pulling back from Jane to give her room to stand.

“I’ll be back soon, love, okay?”

“Hmm.” Jane gave Catherine’s hand a squeeze, grabbed her purse and headed out the door, closing it quietly behind her. Once Jane left the room, Catherine groaned once more and flopped back onto the bed, curling herself around the covers and making somewhat of a nest. Within minutes she was fast asleep.

When Jane returned sometime later, she couldn’t help but laugh at Catherine’s position. She was balled up, all of the bedding covering her- so unlike how she usually slept in her typical orderly fashion. Jane placed the food down on the bedside table, moving over to the pile of blankets to wake Catherine.

“Cathy, time to wake up.” She was met with only mumbles. Jane decided to take some measure of initiative, pulling the bedding away to be met with a very dishevelled Parr, shirt all twisted and hair practically matted. “We’ll have to clean you up later,” Jane spoke, mainly to herself, as she grabbed the food and handed it over.

\------

That afternoon, the queens all dropped by to drop off dinner and check on Catherine after their swim. Jane thought it would help boost her mood, but by the time they left, she seemed even more exhausted than earlier. It was just beginning turn to evening, but Jane had barely even left the room at all, Catherine still in her pyjamas as she struggled to read her most recently purchased book. Eventually, after seeing Parr’s head drop several times in only a few minutes, Jane decided it was time to get ready for bed.

“Do you want to have a bath?” Jane questioned, gently taking the book out of Parr’s hands and marking her page, putting it down on the dresser.

“No,” Catherine replied, too exhausted to take the time to get ready.

“You’ll regret that in the morning,” Jane grinned, grabbing Catherine’s brush from her bag and sitting against the headboard of the bed to fix her hair.

“Yes,” the reply came out somewhat defeated. Parr straightened her shirt and moved back to lean against Jane as she slowly brushed out her thick, curly hair.

“Do you want me to stay here tonight?” Jane asked Catherine, hoping she would get an affirmative answer, but knowing she had done enough in the past day that Parr might want to be alone.

“Yes,” Catherine said quietly, twisting her fingers together and bouncing her crossed legs up and down. A moment of silence passed between them, before Catherine asked a question that shocked Jane. “Are you okay?” At first, she couldn’t answer, having never seen Parr be so direct about emotions in the whole time she’d known her.

“What?” Jane tilted her head in confusion, “Of course.” Catherine hummed softly in response.

“You’re lying,” She started to sound more assertive now.

“Catherine, I’m fine. Leave me alone.” That had come out more harshly than intended, and Jane quickly regretted her words. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” The brunette simply nodded her head in agreement.

“Do you like anyone?” The brush in Jane’s hand stopped, catching in Parr’s hair. Jane pulled in out and placed it next to her on the bed, suddenly feeling uncomfortable at their closeness. She could feel tears incoming and tried her best to prevent them, blinking a couple times in quick succession before answering.

“Of course. I like all of you queens.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“What makes you ask?”

“I heard Anne and Catherine saying something while you were talking with the others earlier.” Parr’s response was quiet, her voice uncertain.

“What about?” Jane hoped her voice sounded more natural than it did in her head.

“You.” Catherine hesitates slightly before answering.

“And?”

“A…girl.” Jane sucked in a deep breath, not knowing how to respond.

“It’s okay, you know. I’m not judging you.” Jane sensed there was more to come, so stayed quiet. “I’m pan,” Parr continued, turning around to search Jane’s face for reassurance.

“I’m bi,” Jane sounded unsure, as if she was only just realising herself. Catherine grinned widely, wrapping her arms around Jane in a tight hug. Surprised that she had initiated contact, Jane could only smile. The moment Catherine pulled away, Jane felt her mood dim slightly. A long time passed before either had the courage to talk again.

“Do I know her?” Catherine asked, a strange sharpness coming across her usually soft features.

“Who?” Jane’s face turned to one of confusion.

“The girl.”

“I really don’t want to talk about it right now Catherine.” Jane’s voice started to increase in volume, making Parr flinch slightly.

“Stop calling me that. At least explain why you’re mad at me!”

“You keep trying to dig into my private life, when it’s none of your fucking business, Catherine.”

“I’m just trying to help, Jane! God knows you’re so miserable all the time, maybe this girl could distract you enough that you don’t take it out on the rest of us!”

“I don’t want to talk to you about it, when will you understand that?”

Both the women were standing by this point, chests heaving as they glared at each other, utterly confused about the whole situation but undoubtedly frustrated and angered by the other. Catherine was openly crying now, looking directly into Jane’s eyes for the first time ever. She captivate Jane, who could only stare back in response. In a move she was sure she would regret later, Jane pulled Catherine’s wrists so her hands were around her waist, cupping her face and kissing her deeply. She pushed Catherine up against the wall, digging her fingers into her hips, leaving a bruise. Catherine responded enthusiastically, twisting her hands tightly into Jane’s hair and moaning into the kiss, pressing their hips together. All too soon, Jane pulled away, face flushed red and tears shining in her eyes.

“Maybe it’s best if you stayed with someone else tonight,” Jane’s voice broke, wobbly from her tears and filled with vulnerability.

“Me? Why not you?” Catherine was beginning to get mad again, trying to push aside what had just transpired between the two of them.

“You can’t look after yourself, Catherine! Why do you think we were even sharing in the first place? I can’t leave you alone.”

“And was this because of my disability, or because of me? Tell the truth, Jane!” Jane froze still, tears now falling fast down her face as she stared at the ground.

“You.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?”

“You’re my friend. I didn’t want to ruin anything.”

“But I feel the same, though.”

“How was I supposed to know that?”

“Oh.” A moment of silence passed between the two. “I’m sorry.”

“What for? You did nothing wrong.”

“For making you mad.”

“Oh, Cathy. Don’t be sorry. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done any of this, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Catherine looked confused for a moment, then nodded her head.

“Why do you keep lying to yourself?”

“I don’t know.” Catherine reached out to take Jane’s hands in hers.

“Please stay. We don’t have to tell anyone what happened.”

“Okay,” Jane’s voice came out in a whisper. Catherine gave her another hug, holding on to her tightly.

“We’ll talk later.”


	5. Chapter 5

“What’s the plan for today?” Anne asked with her mouth full of pastries, a large number of croissant flakes making their way onto the table.

“That’s absolutely disgusting, Annie,” Katherine said as she kicked her under the table.

“Fucking ow!” Anne winced, clutching her shin with both hands, attempting to hold back tears and not spill any more of her breakfast. Aragon shot her a glare from across the table, horrified at her language in public.

“Suck it up, Boleyn” Anna laughed, nudging her in the side. Anne flinched slightly at this, but attempted to hide it. Rather unsuccessfully in the eyes of Parr, who was now giggling at her.

“I was thinking we could go see the Eiffel Tower today, then go out tonight? Someone wanted to climb up the whole thing so it could take a while,” Jane replied, everyone turning to look at Anne.

“Do we all have to do the steps?” Parr asked, glancing over at Anne with a dangerous look in her eyes.

“I’m most definitely not,” Aragon responded. Parr looked much happier at that news.

“What time are we leaving?” Katherine questioned Jane, trying to ignore the hacking noises Anne was making as she choked on her croissants.

“Around nine? Will you all be ready by then?” A number of affirmative responses followed. “Great.”

\------

“How much longer will you take?” Anna sat on the floor outside the bathroom, waiting somewhat impatiently for her turn to have a shower.

“Be done soon,” Katherine’s voice came out slightly wobbly, causing Anna to immediately jump up off the floor and knock on the door softly.

“Can I come in?” The door clicked open almost immediately, much to Anna surprise. Katherine stood with a choker in her hand, tears threatening to cascade down her face. The pale, jagged scar on her neck a stark contrast to her tanned skin. “Do you need some help?” Anna’s voice was gentle as she reached out to squeeze one of Katherine’s shaking hands. She nodded in response almost immediately. Anna took the choker from Katherine and secured it at the back of her neck, ensuring it covered the entire scar. She took both of Kat’s hands in her and gently pulled her away from the mirror. Katherine gave Anna a small smile, reaching up on her tip toes to give her a kiss.

“Help me fix my makeup?”

\------

The queens stood at the base of the Eiffel Tower, surprised at the sheer number of people who were there to see it.

“This is so cool!” Anne exclaimed, jumping up and down slightly in excitement. Katherine nodded her agreement. “Who wants to climb with me?”

“I’m up for it, I guess,” Cleves responded, looking questioningly at Katherine.

“Me too!” The youngest queen stated.

“Race you!”

“Annie, wait!” Katherine shouted, upset at being left behind by the other two. The remaining queens laughed at their enthusiasm, knowing it wouldn’t last long, before heading over to the elevator queue. The trip to the top was fast, and soon they were standing side by side, looking out over Paris. It was somewhat chilly, despite the sun, and Jane found herself leaning into Parr, wrapping an arm under her jumper. As a general rule, Parr wouldn’t let anyone touch her so intimately without permission, but since day one, Jane had always been an exception. Aragon, having noticed Jane’s sly move, grinned a knowing smile.

“You two sorted things out then?” She gave a small chuckle at the look on their faces, nodding down at Jane’s arm around Parr’s waist. Both sets of cheeks flushed before Parr rushed out a response, slightly too loudly.

“Yes!” She looked around awkwardly, aware of her volume. “I mean, yeah.” Jane couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m glad. I was wondering when you two would finally get together.” At this, Jane quickly pulled her arm away.

“We’re not! I mean, kinda? We-we’re not…not really.” Jane stumbled over her words as Parr nodded in agreement, looking down at the floor.

“Not really?” Aragon questioned, eyebrows raised at the response.

“Yeah…not really,” Jane’s voice trailed off, lost in the wind whipping around them.

“Well, if there was anything I could do for my goddaughter and her not-really-girlfriend, such as, for example, take a photo of them together on the Eiffel Tower…overlooking one of the most beautiful cities in the world…the city of love…” Catherine kept going, enjoying the embarrassed look on their faces.

“We get it, Mum!” Parr quickly covered her mouth with her hands as she blurted it out. Jane let out a soft ‘aww’ behind her.

“Mum? That one’s new,” Aragon smiled at Parr’s outburst.

“Is it okay?” Parr’s voice was quiet, afraid she’d overstepped the boundaries they had, not wanting to make Catherine uncomfortable.

“It’s perfect,” Aragon gave her a tight hug, “Now how about that photo?” Catherine blushed and nodded, reaching out to take Jane’s hand and pulling her back over to the railing.

“Smile,” Aragon said, pulling out her phone and capturing Cathy’s wide grin as Jane kissed her cheek. “Adorable. I’ll send it to you later.” Parr and Jane moved back out of the cold, giving Aragon a big hug.

“Don’t tell the others, Cath. We’ve barely even discussed it ourselves,” Jane pleaded.

“Your secret is safe with me.”

\------

It was loud. Too loud for Catherine, who had put on earplugs and noise cancelling headphones the moment they walked inside, and was now reading at the booth, gently rocking back and forth as she ate her dinner. Jane sat between her and Katherine, chatting quietly with the others. Anna sat across from them, sipping on her drink (it had to be at least her fourth, at this point), two empty seats next to her. To everyone’s surprise, Anne and Catherine were having what appeared to be a civilised conversation at the bar, laughing every so often, though that was likely a side effect of too much alcohol.

“Mum,” Katherine whined, nudging Jane, “I don’t feel so good.”

“Shouldn’t have gotten wasted, then,” Parr looked up from her book, grinning at Kat.

“What? You only had two drinks,” Jane responded, “Right?” Her tone was harsher now. Catherine looked away quickly, not wanting to get in trouble. Unfortunately for Anna, however, she was directly across from Jane.

“We maybe had a few more when you went to the toilet.” Catherine gave a small chuckle at the queen’s unusually timid tone. Anna flinched under Jane’s glare. “Sorry.”

“That’s it, we’re going back to the hotel. Now. I can’t believe you two would drink so irresponsibly, you’ll feel awful in the morning.” Anna and Katherine sighed, standing up as Jane gathered her things. “Catherine, you’re coming too,” Jane pulled Parr up and handed her a jacket. “You’re the responsible one here, perhaps next time you could take a bit more control? Katherine’s still a teenager!”

“She’ll live,” Parr shrugged, giving Kat a grin. Jane scowled at this before heading over to the bar to get Aragon and Boleyn.

“We’re leaving now. Are you coming?” Jane’s tone was clipped, clearly annoyed at something.

“I’m staying,” Anne stated, looking over at Catherine questioningly.

“Me too,” Aragon replied. Jane was somewhat confused over the situation, but as long as the two weren’t screaming at each other, she was happy enough. Turning back around to the other three queens who stood awkwardly together by the door, she linked her arm through Parr’s.

“They’ll be back later.”

\------

“Excuse me miss? I was wondering if I could buy you a drink?” The man spoke with a strong accent, looking over Boleyn’s body unabashedly as she scowled at him.

“I’m good,” Anne shook her head, turning back to Catherine and attempting to pick up where their conversation left off.

“She your girlfriend or something?” The man persisted, inching closer to the pair as he spoke.

“I think it’s best if you leave now,” Catherine stood up now, facing the man who was evidently making Anne uncomfortable.

“And I think your pretty friend here can make her own decisions,” the man slung his arm around Anne’s shoulders, far too close to her neck. Catherine saw the change in Anne’s expression immediately. Her face practically froze, eyes glassy and dark.

“She said no!” Catherine pushed the guy away, holding onto one of Anne’s hands.

“Whatever,” he mumbled, finally leaving them alone.

“Anne? Are you okay?” Catherine asked her, hoping for a response. Anne was quiet for a minute before responding.

“Yeah, I’m fine. How about we go to that club now?” Aragon looked at her, concerned.

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely.”


	6. Chapter 6

Anne’s head throbbed, the light from the half-open curtains blinding her in her hungover state. She had minimal recollection of the previous night, only some vague memory of Aragon defending her against some guy. The rest of the evening was like a gaping hole in her mind. She gave a groan, furrowing into the blankets in an attempt to stop the light from blinding her. As she moved around, she felt an arm wrap around her bare waist. Where the hell am I? Despite being immensely confused, Anne didn’t feel panicked at all, surprisingly. The warmth from the undoubtedly female body next to her was comfortable, but Anne knew she needed to get back to the other queens; judging by the sunlight it was probably already mid-morning. Pulling away from the woman, careful not to wake whoever it was, she slowly opened her eyes, only to recognise her own hotel room. Huh. Aragon will be furious at me. She sat up, pulling a sheet with her to cover her naked form, before taking a deep breath and looking over at the person next to her. The errant curls immediately gave her identity away. With a strangled cry, Anne jolted out of the bed. Her breathing came in gasps almost immediately, tears springing up in her eyes and beginning to fall down her pale cheeks. Quickly dressing herself, she bolted out of the room.

\------

Jane had spent most of the morning so far reading. They had planned on going out again today, but with over half of the queens immensely hungover that prospect was rather unlikely. Anna had gone down to breakfast with Parr just moments ago, Jane having already eaten hours prior. She could only assume the other queens were sleeping off the worst of their maladies. Just as she reached the last line of her paragraph, a loud knock echoed through the room. Jane quickly stood, opening the door and expecting to find Katherine looking for some company. Instead, a tear-stricken Boleyn pushed her way into the room.

“I did something dreadful, Jane,” Anne’s voice was too loud, and she was clearly breathless. She looked dishevelled, hair all over the place and makeup from the previous night smudged in dark circles around her eyes.

“Deep breaths, Anne,” Jane said soothingly, opening her arms to the brunette, who collapsed against her in sobs. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

“I had sex with Aragon.” Jane gasped at the confession, not at all expecting to ever hear those words, let alone from Boleyn. She held Anne even tighter. “What do I do, Jane?” Anne was desperate, shaking in her arms, tears soaking the cotton of Jane’s shirt.

“You’ll have to talk to her about it, love.” Anne cried even harder at this, gripping Jane’s shirt in her hands as her knees went weak. “You’ll be okay. It’ll be okay.”

\------

Jane texted the group chat, letting the others know that Anne wasn’t feeling well so they would just stay in the hotel today. As predicted, everyone responded except Aragon. Anna and Parr had come back, bringing Katherine with them so they could all discuss what had happened. Anne had continued crying through her whole explanation to the other queens, who reacted just about as well as expected. She was now asleep on the double bed, the other four leaving her to have some space. They moved over to Katherine and Anna’s room, Catherine and Jane sitting together on the couch. Katherine looked at them suspiciously as they leaned on each other, but didn’t feel it was the right time to comment.

“I still can’t believe it,” Parr said, incredulous. “How on earth did they get that drunk?” Katherine shook her head as she lay against the headboard, crying quietly. There was no doubt in her mind that this would ruin their whole group dynamic.

“Someone should go check on Catherine,” Anna said, looking over at Jane and Parr.

“I’ll go. She might talk to me,” Parr extracted herself from Jane’s arms, making her way over to the door. “If I’m not back in an hour presume the worst.” Katherine gave a weak chuckle as Parr shut the door behind her.

“It’s me, Catherine. Can I come in?” She asked as she knocked on the door, fully expecting to receive no response. She was shocked as the door clicked open, but hid her surprise as she entered the room. Aragon had clearly been crying, face flushed red and shiny with tears. There were dark circles under her eyes, and the small wrinkles forming around her mouth and eyes seemed more prominent. A prayer book was open on the table, reaffirming Parr’s fears about the situation. “Mum? Are you okay?” Aragon shook her head, making her way over to the couch and collapsing on it. Parr followed her cautiously, not wanting to make her more upset.

“Nothing you need to worry yourself with, Cathy.” Aragon’s voice was hoarse from crying.

“I don’t know if this will help at all, but Anne says she doesn’t remember anything,” Parr attempted to comfort Aragon.

“But I do.”

“Oh. That doesn’t help much, then,” Aragon chuckled a bit at Parr’s matter-of-fact tone.

“I suppose not.”

“Do you want a hug?” Parr tried, looking down at the Spanish queen with concerned eyes. She received a nod in response. “We still love you, mum. No matter what you did. And God loves you too, you’ll be okay.” Addressing Aragon’s fears made her cry even more, and Parr was worried she’d made a mistake, until the older queen enveloped her in a hug, softly crying into her shoulder.

“Thank you, love.”

\------

The queens did all end up going out that afternoon, having spent only one day sightseeing in the three days of their trip, but it was extremely uncomfortable for everyone. The highlight, and possibly the only positive experience, was in the Louvre, when Anna spotted her portrait by Holbein (‘I did actually look like that, you know’). She took at least a hundred selfies with it, to the confusion of many onlooking tourists and the amusement of her friends. They headed out to lunch before walking the Champs-Élysées and spending far too much money on clothing. Weighed down by bags upon bags, they unanimously agreed to head back to the hotel before going for a relaxing swim.

\------

“You’re such a perv!” Anna dramatically whisper-shouted at Anne, who lay sunbathing beside her.

“What? No, I’m not!” Boleyn whispered back, averting her eyes from the pool where Kat, Catherine and Parr were playing some sort of chasey game in the water.

“You totally are. Heart eyes and everything,” Cleves teased, laughing at the splotchy blush in Anne’s cheeks. “Do you actually like her?”

“She’s hot.” Anne grumbled. “But that’s it. Still a fucking piece of shit.” Anna grinned at this.

“Mhm.”

“Better than you bloody eye-fucking my cousin, right in front of the rest of us, too,” Boleyn retorted loudly, drawing the attention of Jane, who had been reading a magazine nearby.

“Save that vulgar language for private, Anne. And no talking about Katherine that way.” Cleves and Boleyn both burst out laughing, rolling their eyes at the blonde queen.

“Have you been seeing the way Jane’s looking at Parr, though? Like she’s one to talk,” Anne whispered with a smirk, enjoying the shocked expression on Anna’s face.

“No way!”

“Mhm, totally.” Cleves looked back over to Jane, who was laying down on a chair, magazine up by her face.

“Wait for it…now.” Jane lowered her magazine slightly, looking over the top at the three still in the pool, her eyes most definitely latched on Cathy.

“Oh my god!”

“I’ve known it forever, Cath-” She broke off suddenly, unsure of her words. “Aragon and I were talking about it a few days ago. It’s got to have happened because of that bed.” Anna nodded her agreement, looking curiously over at the queens in the pool.

“Huh. Who would have thought?”

“Me,” Anne grinned cheekily, narrowly avoiding a whack on the head by Anna.

“Have you spoken with Catherine yet?” Cleves asked, her tone quickly turning serious.

“About what?” Anne played oblivious.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” Boleyn gave a heavy sigh, rolling onto her back and looking up at the clear blue sky.

“She’s probably been praying away the gay every possible moment since. What am I even supposed to say to her?” Anna looked contemplative for a moment before responding.

“I’m just going to put this out there, and correct me if I’m wrong, but our Catalina over there knows what goes on with all of the queens, right? Not exactly as involved as Jane, but she knows things.” Anne nodded, encouraging Anna to continue. “And I’m also just saying that, provided Jane and Parr are together, like you think they are, she would know, right?” Another nod from Anne.

“How do you know that she knows, though?”

“I saw a message from her on Jane’s phone. Of Jane kissing Parr’s cheek at the Eiffel Tower. Looked innocent enough to me, but now I’m not so sure.”

“So she’s fine with herself being gay? Is that what you’re saying?” Anna laughed and shook her head.

“I’m saying she’s accepted me and Katherine. She’s accepted Jane, and her own god-daughter. I imagine she’s confused about doing what she did, and she’s undoubtedly upset, but she won’t be against you for being that way. In any case, you were both drunk. She may not even be questioning anything at all.” Anne nodded, pulling Anna in for a hug.

“Thank you.”


	7. Chapter 7

It was four o’clock before both Aragon and Parr decided they’d had enough of the pool, and Jane followed them back inside to the hotel.

“Dinner at six, yeah?” Aragon confirmed.

“Yes. I’ll try and get everyone there on time today,” Jane smiled as she reached their door, “See you soon.” The moment Parr entered the room, she threw off her towel, leaving her standing in just her bikini. Jane attempted to avert her eyes- they had only been kind-of together for a couple of days, after all. But being as hopeless as she was, failed miserably.

“Sorry, my towel’s all wet,” Catherine grinned, turning around to face a flustered Jane. “Help me undo my top?” Jane gulped, unsure of what she was expected to do in this situation. The look in Parr’s eyes was enough to tell her exactly what she wanted, but Catherine had never been so forward with her. The furthest they’d gone was making out, and even then they were almost too careful, not having set up any real boundaries in the relationship yet. Jane wasn’t sure if she was ready, or if Catherine was ready. She didn’t want to regret it later. Didn’t want to end up like Aragon and Boleyn who couldn’t even look at each other anymore, after acting like friends just the day before.

She had also, obviously, never been with a woman before. And though she was sure Parr was entirely more experienced on the topic of intimacy, having had four husbands, Catherine couldn’t have any idea what she was doing either. And had what she’d experienced in her past life even counted as love? She had given herself to Henry, of course. But he had then gone and gotten three more wives after her. How was it that she could make love to Catherine, having never know what it truly felt like herself? Their past lives were complicated- sure, Jane had at one point loved Henry, though now felt almost ashamed of her situation.

But that wasn’t the main issue. Thomas was. And although the last thing she wanted at this moment was for the memories of her brother to enter her mind, she couldn’t help it. Catherine had loved him. This made Jane wonder what kind of person Catherine had been back then, to love a monster like him. Though Jane supposed she’d done the same with the King. But the fact that Thomas was her brother was off-putting. Yes, Catherine looked different in her past life. But it was still Catherine. What if she decided she didn’t really love Jane after all? What is she only reminded her of Thomas? And of course, they hadn’t even said ‘I love you’ yet. Wasn’t that supposed to come first, before they made any decisions they would regret? They weren’t married, after all; far from it. Should she wait until then, like she had been told? Could she wait until then?

Jane felt sick to her stomach.

“Jane?” Catherine asked, reaching out to hold her hand. Jane quickly shook herself out of her thoughts. Pushing them aside, she decided to sort herself out later. For once, she would live in the moment.

“Yeah?” Jane’s breath had started to quicken, her heart pounding in a way that made her nervous. In a good way, she supposed. She’d never felt like this before. With anyone.

“Come here.” With a sly grin, Catherine pulled Jane after her into the bathroom. She slid her cool hands over Jane’s shoulders, pulling the loose, flowing dress she wore to the ground before turning on the shower. “Is this okay?” Jane nodded her head almost too enthusiastically. Embarrassed with herself, she leant forward to kiss Catherine, reaching up to tangle hands in her hair as Catherine tugged on her bikini top.

“More than okay,” she breathed, pulling Catherine with her into the shower.

Sometime later, the two queens lay entwined under the covers of their bed, Catherine’s face against Jane’s chest, listening to her heartbeat and deep, slow breaths. Parr was worried they’d escalated too soon, but couldn’t deny that it felt right in the moment. She knew she’d never felt so confused about anyone as she did about Jane-but she also knew that she loved her. And that was good enough for the time being. She slid her hands up Jane’s bare back to play with the silky, slightly damp ends of her hair. Sighing contentedly, she pressed her cheek against Jane’s warm skin, already dozing off. Dinner could wait.

\------

“Where the purgatory is everyone?” Aragon sat at their reserved table for dinner, next to Katherine, who had left the pool shortly after herself. “They promised they’d be here on time.”

“I tried texting them but no-one answered. I’m guessing Anne and Anna are just getting dressed. What do you think Cathy and Mum are doing?”

“I really don’t want to think about that,” Catherine stated bluntly, completely forgetting herself.

“What?”

“Oh. Nothing, Kat.” Catherine hurried to cover up her words.

“Okay?” Katherine sounded sceptical, but let it drop. Just then, Aragon got a call from Cleves.

“Anna! Where are you?” Katherine immediately looked over at Catherine, trying to listen in on the conversation. Cleves spoke for a minute, all the while Aragon listened attentively, a strange expression on her face. “We’ll be right there.”

“What happened?” Katherine was already tearing up, knowing it couldn’t be good.

“Anne broke her arm, she’s in hospital right now.”

“What?!” Katherine looked like she was going to be sick, face pale and hands immediately coming up to clutch her stomach.

“I’ll go get Jane and Cathy, okay? Go grab something for dinner. We’ll meet you in the foyer in ten.” Katherine nodded hurriedly, scrambling out of her seat and across the room. Catherine picked up her bag and headed straight to the elevator. She power walked down the hall to Jane and Parr’s room, knocking briskly on the door.

“Coming!” Jane called. There was some movement inside the room before a dishevelled looking Jane answered the door in her robe.

“Anne’s in the hospital. Meet you in the lobby in five.” Catherine promptly turned around and headed back the way she came, not at all wanting to believe she and Kat had been stood up for dinner because Catherine and Jane couldn’t keep it in their pants. She spotted Katherine immediately, bright pink hair standing out amongst the sea of people. She looked slightly panicked, clutching the bag of their dinner tightly.

“Where are they?”

“Just getting dressed. They won’t be long.” Aragon shook her head in disbelief, causing Katherine to become even more confused. Not even a minute later, Jane and Catherine came running through the lobby, properly dressed this time but faces flushed bright red. “Got everything? Let’s go.”

\------

The four queens filed into the hospital room, gasping when they saw the state Anne was in, laying pale on the bed with an oxygen tube in her nose and a cast around her arm. They hadn’t expected her condition to be this bad. Anna sat next to the bed in damp clothes, holding Anne’s hand tightly.

“Annie!” Katherine ran forward, grabbing onto Anne’s other hand, already crying.

“What happened?” Parr asked Anna, moving over to take an unoccupied chair.

“She tripped on the diving board and smashed her arm. She’s going to need surgery tomorrow to reconstruct it. There was some water in her lungs they had to get out, so she’s going to have to stay for a bit to make sure she doesn’t get an infection. I had to pull her out, she was hardly conscious. I think she hit her head too.” Jane gasped at this, looking sadly at Anne as she lay still on the bed.

“When will she wake up?” Aragon questioned Anna.

“They just said to wait.”

\------

A couple of hours later, Jane, Parr and Aragon set out to get some coffee, all exhausted after the stressful wait for the doctor. When they found out her arm was broken in three places, Katherine broke down in tears. She now refused to leave Anne’s side, so Anna kept her company while they waited for the others to get back. The cafeteria of the hospital was loud and buzzing, and Parr immediately regretted not bringing her headphones.

“Do you want one of us to wait with you?” Aragon asked, surprised as Catherine shook her head.

“We’ll be back in a minute, then.” Jane smiled as Parr moved over to find a seat on the outskirts of the large room. She rocked back and forth in her chair slightly, playing with her fingers as she worried about Anne.

“Is anyone sitting here? My table doesn’t have enough seats.” Preoccupied in her own thoughts, Catherine didn’t fully process what the man was saying. He spoke French with a modern accent, unlike the queens, and Parr couldn’t understand all of it. She gave him a blank look. “Oh, sorry.” He began to repeat his question, this time in English, presuming she didn’t know the language.

“Sorry!” Parr blurted out as he was halfway through.

“What?” The man looked confused as Catherine’s rocking increased in velocity.

“Oh, sorry. Sorry.” At this point a teen girl from his table had also walked over, curious about the situation.

“Just drop it, she’s obviously a retard,” she spoke brashly, laughing at Catherine’s incessant mumbling.

“Excuse me? What’s going on here?” Aragon questioned the pair, Jane looking on with trepidation behind her.

“My brother was asking for a chair. Your friend here is fucking retarded, though, and won’t speak to him,” she spoke English, unfortunately for her, as Jane could now understand every word.

“Don’t call her that, you bitch!” Jane moved over to grab Parr’s hand, guiding her up out of her seat and placing a protective arm around her. The man looked on amusedly, smiling at the shocked look on the girl’s face.

“She’s a dyke, too?” At this, Aragon stepped forward, grabbing the girl roughly by her arm and looking into her eyes.

“Don’t use those words ever again, do you understand me?” Her voice was dangerously low, growling and intimidating.

“Je ne voulais pas dire ça comme ça!” The girl slipped into French in her panic, looking desperately up to the man, who just shook his head. The girl scowled before quickly heading back to her own table.

“I’m so sorry, misses.”

“It’s okay. You can take a chair, we’re leaving now.”

“Thank you.” He took a chair, shot one more concerned look at Catherine, then left.

“Are you alright, Cathy?” Aragon asked her, moving over to hold her other hand.

“Sorry. Sorry,” Catherine continually repeated quietly, muttering the word like a mantra.

“We should get her back to Anne’s room.” Jane spoke, rubbing Parr’s back soothingly.

“I might go back to the hotel and get some stuff for everyone. I’ll talk to one of the nurses and see what we can organise. There’s no way we can leave split up tonight.”


	8. Chapter 8

In somewhat broken French, both Catherines attempted to explain the situation to the hospital staff. Anne’s condition had been critical, and though it wasn’t anymore, they were in a foreign country and tried to explain they couldn’t leave her there. It didn’t help that none of the staff in Anne’s ward spoke English. The young doctor was about to refuse, intent on following policy, but one look at the Kat and Anna curled up on the bed, clutching Anne, made her resolve disappear.

“You must not leave the room. She has a bathroom, you must use that. One night only, while she is still in emergency. When she moves tomorrow there are set visiting hours.” They both nodded their heads enthusiastically, thanking her as she left the room.

The queens now all had a change of clothes and some things to do, thanks to Aragon. Katherine was curled up next to her cousin, watching the TV and trying to follow along, struggling when the characters talked too fast, as she was still fairly new to the language. She loosely braided Anne’s hair as she listened, trying to detangle the knots she had swimming. Jane did some needlework on the couch next to Parr, who was reading a book. As the room was intended for two patients, there were two reclining chairs. Aragon sat in one, reading a magazine. Anna occupied the other, working on a crocheting project (much to everyone’s surprise, except Katherine).

“I think it’s time to turn in for the night,” Aragon’s voice broke the silence of the room. Too exhausted to disagree, the queens settled into their sleeping places for the night. Aragon went over to the cupboard to grab some blankets, laying them over Anna, Jane and Parr, and Katherine on Anne’s bed. She gave a soft sigh, and a strange look fell over her face as she looked at Anne’s still, pale form under the covers. After making sure no one needed anything, she headed back to her own chair. “Goodnight.” There was a chorus of “’night” in response before Anna switched off the light and they all fell into a light sleep.

\------

A scream, undoubtedly Katherine’s, woke them all up. She was clutching at her neck, panting heavily with tears running down her face. Anne lay awake next to her, eyes wide in horror. She wasn’t in the right state of mind to help, and could barely even recognise the reason for her cousin’s distress. She felt trapped, strange tubes in her body and arm completely unmovable. Jane immediately ran over to the side of the bed, grasping one of Katherine’s hands and coaching her through her breathing. Anna spoke to Boleyn, trying to calm her down. She was successful eventually, with Anne’s tears stopping after a couple minutes. The queens watched on as Katherine’s terror began to fade, sad looks in all their eyes. The teen held onto Jane like a lifeline, mumbling incoherently as she sobbed into the front of her shirt.

“It’s alright, love. You’re okay, we’re all here. Nothing can hurt you.” Jane’s voice was maternal and soothing, the calmness in her tone helping combat Katherine’s fear. “Keep breathing, Kat. You’re doing amazing.” Katherine was quite literally shaking the bed, making Anne uncomfortable with the tubes still up her nose. Her concussion wasn’t benefitting from it at all, either.

“Jane?” Anna began quietly, looking over at her girlfriend, who was likely going to be distressed for quite some time. “I think we should move Katherine.”

“Of course, love.” Jane looked over at Anne, giving her an apologetic smile. Anna made her way over to the other side of the bed, easily lifting up the quivering girl and laying her down on the couch, which Parr had now vacated in order to sit with Aragon. Katherine made grabby hands towards Jane, and sniffled when there was no immediate response.

“Mum?”

“I’ll be there in a moment, love.” In the darkness of the room, Jane lead Anna back over to her seat, tucking her in. She did the same to Anne, gently rearranging her arm to prevent it from hurting, and ensuring she was still attached to all of her machines.

“Goodnight, Anne.” The tired girl in front of her only hummed lightly in response, quickly falling back asleep. Jane smiled, heading back over to the couch where Katherine lay waiting.

“Goodnight, Kat.”

“Night, mum.” Katherine reached her arms around Jane’s waist, resting her head on her shoulder. “Love you.” Jane held the still shaking Katherine for hours before she finally fell into fitful sleep.

\------

The queens had gone out sightseeing for the day, at Anne’s insistence. She didn’t want to ruin the holidays for everyone, and practically begged them to go do something fun rather then stay in the hospital room all day, going mad form the incessant beeping. Aragon volunteered to watch over her, much to Anne’s disappointment. She sat on the chair next to the bed, hands folded in her lap and posture seeming to be uncomfortably stiff. Anne was surprised she even spoke, half expecting to spend the next few hours in silence.

“I really do care about you.” Catherine’s voice was quiet, almost as if she was ashamed to say it.

“Don’t fucking play with me,” Anne snapped at her, turning away, “You’ve done enough already.”

“I can’t shy away from the truth, Anne.” The younger queen was shaking now, evidently trying to muffle her cries. “I’m sorry for hurting you.” Aragon reached out to hold Anne’s uninjured hand. Much to her surprise, Boleyn didn’t pull away. If anything, Catherine could swear she felt a squeeze. “I truly do like you, Anne.”

“A horrible decision, really.” The room fell into silence, save for the sounds of the machines still attached to Anne. Catherine noticed Anne’s heart rate had increased since the beginning of their conversation. “I’m sorry for letting it go too far. I honestly don’t have any recollection.”

“I do.” Catherine’s voice was quiet, full of apprehension.

“Really?” Anne quickly turned back around to look at the Spanish queen, who was now blushing heavily. Looking at their linked hands, Anne smiled. “How was it?” Aragon was shocked by Boleyn’s bluntness, gasping loudly at the comment.

“Anne!”

“What? I’m being completely serious!”

“And I’m not telling you anything!”

“I guess I’ll just have to find out, then?” Catherine quietened, racking her brain for a response.

“You’re hurt!” She blurted out.

“And you’re running out of excuses.”

“You shattered your arm.”

“No issue.” Aragon flinched at this.

“No, Anne.” Boleyn gave a sigh and lay back down, pulling Catherine’s hand over her racing heart.

“We’ll see about that.”

\------

The four queens wandered around Disney world, Katherine and Anna stopping at nearly every ride to try them out. They knew Boleyn wouldn’t be particularly happy with them, but France was only a train ride away; they could go some other time together. Jane and Catherine sat leaning into each other on a bench nearby an intense-looking rollercoaster the other two had begged to go on. Jane decided to pass on this one, sitting instead with Parr who had flat out refused to try anything.

“I was thinking we should tell them soon,” Jane said to Catherine, wrapping an arm around her waist as she spoke.

“Really?”

“Only if you want to.”

“Okay. What are you going to say?”

“That we’re together?” Jane sounded unsure of how to answer the question, thinking it obvious.

“You still haven’t asked me.” Catherine responded matter-of-factly, smirking at Jane’s shocked face. “I’m just kidding!” Jane gave her a light hit on the arm.

“Ow!” Catherine pouted.

“There’s no way that hurt.” Jane laughed at Parr’s reaction.

“It did. A little.”

“Need me to kiss the pain away?” There was a shine in Jane’s eyes, the corner of her mouth raising in a smirk.

“Yes!” Parr spoke a bit too enthusiastically, sitting up straighter. “You need to ask me out first, though.” Jane giggled, reaching over to hold both of Catherine’s hands in her own.

“Catherine Parr, will you be my girlfriend?” Parr’s face broke in in a massive smile as she nodded her head. Jane leaned in to kiss her, wrapping her arms around her waist. They pulled away after a short but sweet moment, smiling at each other.

“Now you can tell them.”


	9. Chapter 9

Anne was released from the hospital a few days later, with instructions to do no strenuous activity for at least two months. The cast was to stay on, and breathing was going to be painful at times, the doctor told them. Anne was to stay off any screens and avoid bright light. It would be an issue, but she would just have to live with being out of the show for a while.

The queens decided to go out to dinner, at the suggestion of Katherine, who had had enough of take away food in the past couple of days. They went out to a place with a live band, and had spent the time waiting for their order dancing together. It was only a short amount of time before Anne got tired, and nearly fell over onto another couple while she was dancing with Katherine. Her cousin managed to catch her, thankfully, but they both ended up on the ground in a fit of giggles regardless, Anne coughing regularly in between laughing. Parr quickly swooped in to pick them up, helping Katherine lead Anne back to their table. Dinner was a relatively quiet affair, until Parr and Jane made their announcement.

“Cathy and I are together.” Jane smiled, clutching Parr’s hand in her own. Aragon and Anne gave each other a knowing look, which confused the new couple slightly. Anna grinned, having seen the two kissing at Disneyland as she and Katherine got off of a ride. She was wondering when they were going to finally break the news. The youngest queen, however, only looked shocked, having not suspected anything of this magnitude.

“Wait a sec. I though you loved Thomas?” Katherine spoke up towards Parr, immensely confused about the whole situation.

“Isn’t that Jane’s brother?” Anna asked for confirmation, looking over at the blonde queen, who nodded her head, a slight frown on her face.

“He’s a fucking creep, that’s what he is. I couldn’t leave, though. I was pregnant with Mary.” Catherine sounded angry, face red and tears evidently incoming. There was a moment of silence while everyone processed her words.

“He…hurt you?” Aragon’s voice was full of concern.

“Not me.” Parr’s voice was barely a whisper. She looked down at the ground as tears pooled in her eyes, dripping onto her lap as she trembled.

“But that means…oh.” Katherine went silent, looking quickly back and forth between Anne and Parr. She reached over to hold Anna’s hand for comfort as she started to cry. “Fuck.”

“I don’t understand.” Aragon spoke to Jane, who looked equally confused.

“Can someone explain what’s going on here?” Jane asked, wary of the silence between all of them and not sure how to resolve the situation.

“He…he hurt Elizabeth,” Parr sniffled, head still bowed. “I don’t know how far he went, though.” At this, Anne sucked in a deep breath.

“You know, I was hoping it wasn’t true.”

“What?” Catherine looked up to Anne towering over her, face red with anger. She slammed her hands down on the table, startling the people at tables surrounding them.

“I was hoping it wasn’t true. I was hoping you had saved her. I thought you would have told me if it had actually happened.” Anne’s voice increased volume, causing Catherine to cower in her seat. “You just let him hurt her? Don’t even know how far he went? You were her step-mother, you should have protected her!” Anne’s voice was raspy, her lungs aching as she breathed heavily.

“Why didn’t you tell me?! Were you in on it, too? Is that why?!” All of the queens looked on in surprise, most having never even heard of what happened. The other patrons were looking over in shock, the queens having drawn the attention of everyone in the restaurant. “Answer me, Catherine! What did you do to her?!” The rest of the queens, save for Parr, also stood now, though unsure of what to do or say. Parr’s breaths were coming in short gasps now, her hand reaching up to clutch her heart. Knowing the signs of a panic attack from Kat, Jane stepped in.

“Anne, please calm down,” Jane started, but was immediately interrupted.

“Calm down?! She helped your brother rape my daughter!”

“I don’t think that’s what happened, Annie,” Katherine began, reaching out to her cousin.

“That is exactly what this is, Katherine! You of all people should know!” Katherine stumbled back, tears forming in her eyes. Anne had never shouted at her before.

“That was too far, Boleyn.” Aragon’s voice rang through the room.

“Says you! How do you know when it’s too far? You spent a night naked in my bed! Since when do you have morals?” At this the queens gasped, as did some of the waiters milling around, watching the drama unfold.

“You fucking witch!” All of the queens were speechless at Aragon’s words as she pulled her hand back to hit Anne, only stopped by Anna’s strong arms around her.

“I think you should leave, Anne,” Anna said, shooting a concerned look at Parr, who looked considerably worse for wear, still struggling to breathe in the corner.

“Me! Why not Catherine?!”

“You need to calm down. Go back to your room.” Anne looked ready to argue with her, but stopped as she looked over at her cousin, who was now sobbing in her seat.

“Fine.” Anne stormed out of the room, pushing roughly past a teary-eyed Aragon as she left.

“Catherine, can you hear me?” Jane asked quietly, crouching down to make herself seem smaller. Parr sat on her chair, rocking back and forth and hitting her hands together. “Breathe, Catherine. Like we practiced. Follow me.” Jane largely exaggerated her breathing motions, and in time Parr started to follow her. 

Anna held Katherine, letting her girlfriend cry against her shoulder as she whispered soothing words to her in an attempt to convince her that Anne did not, in fact, hate her. The other diners slowly began to look away and begin talking again, giving the group some privacy. Aragon sat next to Parr, gently rubbing her back. She felt immense relief as Parr’s breathing began to even out, worried about the stress she had been under since the start of the trip.

“I think we should head back,” Aragon said to Jane, who nodded her agreement.

“I don’t even know how we’re going to fix this.” Jane’s uncertain voice reflected her words as she looked sadly at Catherine. She had no idea about what happened with Elizabeth; she hadn’t even known she’d lived with Catherine. They all knew about the pregnancy, of course, but hadn’t discussed Parr’s life after Henry. She died soon after, and based on everyone else’s reaction to mentions of their deaths, it would bring up painful memories.

“We’re going to go back to the room now, Catherine,” Jane spoke softly, grabbing Parr’s hands to pull her up. They slowly headed moved around the table to Katherine and Anna, Catherine’s legs shaky and barely able to support her weight. “Kat, love, we’re going to leave now,” Jane said as she stroked her hair. Anna helped her to stand, and they all headed up to Katherine and Anna’s room. Aragon trailed awkwardly behind them, still wiping tears from her eyes.

They all lay on the bed, Jane in the middle with Parr and Katherine on either side of her. Catherine lay in Aragon’s arms, Jane’s hand softly stroking hers as she drifted off to sleep. Anna lay on the end, nearly falling off, arm around Kat’s waist. The youngest rested her head on Jane’s shoulder, softly snoring as a result of the day’s activities.

Jane couldn’t help but feel awful for leaving Boleyn alone in the room next door- they were family, after all. But something had clearly happened, and until Jane got to the bottom of it, there was nothing she could do. Looking down at Parr’s resting face, she worried, praying that whatever happened didn’t occur to the extent Anne believed. Knowing her brother, her heart ached for Anne. She knew that the reports couldn’t all be fabricated. If any of her brothers had wanted Elizabeth, they would have done anything to get her. Jane shuddered at the thought.

\-----

Anne lay next door, head pounding due to her shouting. Her thoughts felt like they were ricocheting inside her mind. She was absolutely furious with Catherine- Catherine, who held up a sweet and innocent façade, pretending like she was the wife with the best morals, the best personality, the likeable, intelligent, strong one who did the most valuable things during her time alive. Hot tears soaked into Anne’s choker, running down her face at a rapid pace. She couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe how their close, tight-knit family had ended up like this. Couldn’t believe all of her friends were next door with that monster rather than her. She eventually drifted off into a restless sleep, brows furrowed and a frown on her face.


	10. Chapter 10

A muffled scream woke Aragon from her slumber. She had barely been asleep to begin with, plagued with thoughts of her lover and her goddaughter. She was inclined to believe both sides; something had clearly happened, though Anne’s reaction was completely uncalled for in her mind. She lay away in the darkness for a moment, willing one of the other queens to get up too, but they all lay still in each other’s arms. She knew that sound, and had little desire to go anywhere near it, especially at this early time of the morning. Feeling obliged, however, she pushed herself up out of bed and snuck out of the room and to the next one over, pushing the key into the lock and opening the door slowly.

Anne lay on the bed, not fully awake, hands clutching at the choker still around her neck and legs tangled in the sheets. Her neck looked rubbed raw from the cast around her arm. Aragon quickly shut the door behind her, proceeding with caution over to the bed.

“Anne?” She was mumbling something, fingernails scratching at her skin and drawing small droplets of blood that she smeared over her neck. Aragon moved closer, gently pulling Anne’s hands away to stop the damage. With a loud, sudden gasp, Anne awoke, bolting upright. Her face gleamed with a sheen of sweat, shirt and shorts clinging to her damp skin.

“Breathe, Anne.” Catherine’s voice was smooth and quiet, and Anne immediately closed her eyes again, taking deep, shaky breaths in. From the tears at the corners of her eyes, Catherine presumed it still hurt her greatly after her accident.

“Bessie,” Anne whimpered, distressed from her nightmare. In a most uncharacteristic move, Catherine reached over to hug her, running her hands gently through her hair.

“She’s alright now, Anne. She’s alright.”

“I’m going to kill Catherine.” Boleyn’s voice turned strong, full of conviction.

“No, you’re not.” Aragon frowned at the threat against her daughter. “You will do absolutely nothing until you give her a chance to explain.” Anne inhaled shakily but nodded her head regardless. “Good. Let’s go to bed now, okay?” At this, Anne shook her head several times, burying her face in Catherine’s shoulder. “At least lay down with me. I’m tired,” she tried to compromise. Anne reluctantly agreed, not wanting to be left alone if Catherine went back to the other room.

Catherine detangled the sheets around them, helping Anne get comfortable with her cast before joining her in the small single bed. Anne immediately curled into her so they lay face to face. Without warning, the younger queen moved in, capturing Catherine’s lips in a kiss. Surprised, Aragon gasped, which Anne took full advantage of. The kiss deepened, Catherine moving to tug on the ends of Anne’s hair. Anne’s uninjured hand ran up and down Aragon’s side as she slid her knee in between her thighs.

Anne pulled back first, gasping at the burning sensation in her lungs before a coughing fit hit her, setting her chest on fire. Unsure of what to do, Catherine held her hand and rubbed her back, whispering comforting words in her ear. Eventually Anne stilled, utterly exhausted from the events of the past few hours. Catherine guided her back to her place on the bed and wrapped an arm around her waist, kissing her once more on the cheek before falling into a deep sleep.

\------

The queens wandered through the Jardin des Tuileries, enjoying the time in nature after a long morning of touring many castles. There was a tense silence radiating from Anne, but apart from that, their day out had seemed relatively normal. It was their second last day in Paris, and they were determined to make the most of it after the disaster that was the last week. They had bought their lunch and were looking for a quiet place to eat.

They found somewhere with a few shady trees, the queens splitting up to give space for a respectful conversation to occur. Doing so in public was a good idea; they would be less likely to make a big scene that way. Katherine made her way over to a particularly big tree, pulling a book and her lunch out her bag.

After grabbing her lunch from Jane, Anna followed her, giving her a kiss as she sat down next to her, holding her own novel to read. The other four were grateful for the couple’s willingness to not interfere; the situation was already sensitive enough, and no-one was wanting to accidentally trigger Katherine.

They all sat down together in a circle, none of them getting out their lunch. There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke.

“I think we need to hear this from Catherine’s perspective,” Aragon began, placing a hand firmly on Anne’s thigh to stop her as she started to interject, “She was the only one there, so she should start.”

“I don’t know exactly what happened,” her voice was weak, the tell-tale signs of incoming tears already visible in her eyes. “We played games with her together and teased her a bit, but nothing that was sexual at all. That’s all I did. Thomas-” Her voice cracked at this, and she reached over to grip Jane’s hand in her own.

“Thomas flirted with her a lot. I told him to stop, I really did, Anne, but he wouldn’t. The worst I ever saw him do was embrace her, but I don’t know what went on that I didn’t know about. The staff wrote that he went to her chambers in when she was in bed. She never told me about it. I swear I didn’t know about it, Anne; not until it was too late. I was in my third trimester and on my fourth husband, I should have left with her but I couldn’t. I couldn’t.” There were tears falling down her face, and she hiccupped occasionally as she spoke.

“I didn’t know what to do, Anne. He had asked her to marry him before he asked me. I should have seen why he even dragged me along in the first place, but I was blinded. I loved him.” Jane stiffened at this, but remained silent as she watched Boleyn process what Parr had said. “I sent her away. It was the best I could do. I still wrote to her everyday. I didn’t get to see her again.”

Aragon looked back and forth between the two women, heart saddened for both of them, and Elizabeth, too.

“Anne?” Jane questioned, noticing the tears running down the girl’s cheeks.

“I believe you, Cathy. I’m sorry.” Anne’s voice was certain, completely lacking the softness the others had been speaking with. “I shouldn’t have blamed you for something he did, when he was abusing his power. I’m sorry.” Catherine sniffled and nodded her head, still looking down at the ground. “Can I have a hug?” Catherine smiled slightly, glad Anne had accepted her apology. The four queens stood, Aragon and Jane smiling sadly at Parr and Anne as they embraced. Aragon gathered their bags as Jane went to collect Katherine and Anna, the latter of which was already napping on the teen’s lap.

“Kat? Are you ready to leave?” Katherine nodded, shaking Anna awake and putting her things back in her bag.

“How did it go?” Anna’s voice was groggy with sleep.

“They worked it out.”

“Good.” Katherine said, giving Jane a hug. “I’m glad.”


	11. Chapter 11

The eldest queens lay together in the single bed, it being almost habit at this point. The light had been off for a while, yet they made no effort to sleep. Anne’s hand slowly made its way up the inside of Catherine’s thigh, fingers teasing as she looked into Aragon’s eyes.

“No, Anne.” the older queen slapped her arm away. “We can’t.”

“Why not?” There was almost a full minute of silence before Catherine spoke again, voice soft.

“I don’t think I love you.” Anne’s breathing stopped for a moment at Aragon’s words.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Are you sure?” Anne took a while to response, voice quivering as she did.

“I don’t know.” At this, Aragon reached out her hand to hold onto Anne’s.

“I’m sorry, Anne, if you feel differently.”

“I don’t.” Her voice was quiet, hesitant.

“I’m just confused about what I want right now.”

“Me too.” A minute of silence passed between the two of them before Anne’s hand returned to Catherine’s body, this time running up and down her side slowly, caressing her curves. Both women’s breathing quickened as they moved closer to each other, touches soft and gentle. Aragon pulled Anne in for a kiss, which quickly turned more passionate.

“I hate you, Boleyn,” Aragon said as Anne pushed her down roughly onto her back.

“The feeling is mutual.”

“Be careful with your arm.” Anne rolled her eyes, bringing the cast up to lay across Catherine’s clavicles. The pressure was minimal, but it was clearly meant to hold her down. Catherine wouldn’t dare move and risk hurting her.

“Save your breath.”

\------

Katherine sat in the boiling hot bath, scrubbing her skin repetitively with a flannel. Her whole body was bright red, and tears rushed down her face in streams. She made an attempt to remove the traces of her breakdown, to little avail. Her eyes were still puffy, but as long as all of her skin was red, it shouldn’t be too noticeable.

“Anna?” She called, wringing out the flannel and laying it on the side of the tub.

“Yeah?” The response from the other room was muffled.

“Come here.” She tied her wet hair up into a bun to get it out of the way. A moment later, Anna entered the room, still wearing her clothes from earlier in the day. She grinned at the sight of her girlfriend, and immediately stripped off herself to join her. She sunk into the warm water, hissing slightly at the temperature before tilting her head back to rest on the edge of the bath. Katherine moved over to her, pulled her arms up over her head and straddled her lap. “I love you.”

“Love you too, babe.” Katherine leant down to kiss Anna, nipping at her lip. She moved down after a moment, sucking on Anna’s neck in hopes of leaving a mark. Anna moaned, opening her eyes to see her love. Who was, at this point, crying again.

“Kat? What’s wrong?” Katherine barely even looked up before responding, hands already making their way down Anna’s body with the aim of distracting her.

“Nothing,” Katherine was teasing her, fingers dangerously close to the apex of her thighs. Anna grabbed her gently by the wrists, pulling her hands away and wrapping her arms around her instead.

“Tell me, Kat. What happened?” Anna’s tone was gentle, expecting something major.

“I got catcalled.” The response was quiet.

“Is that all?” The teen shook her head, leaning on Anna’s shoulder as she started to sob.

“He touched me.” It was barely a whisper, but Anna heard loud and clear. She held on tighter, softly stroking Katherine’s arm to soothe her.

“Kat, if it happens again, please tell me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. But please don’t pretend it didn’t happen. It’s not good for you.” She nodded, reaching out to entwine her fingers in Anna’s. They lay there for a few minutes before Katherine turned around and pulled Anna towards her for a kiss. Anna gripped her shoulders to stop her, pushing her away. Katherine looked confused for a moment, eyes once again filling with tears.

“Don’t you want me?” The vulnerability in her voice almost killed the German queen.

“I do, love. But you don’t want it. Not right now.” Katherine shook her head, though the tears indicated otherwise. “You can’t push aside every one of your problems with sex. It won’t make it easier for you, and it’s not healthy.”

“Okay.” She looked at her hands, fidgeting with her fingers.

“I think it’s time to get some rest.” The young queen allowed Anna to help her out of the bath and change into her pyjamas. She fell into a fitful sleep, clinging to Anna like a lifeline. Her girlfriend could only hold her tight and reassure her that everything would be okay.

\------

“Where did you get that picture?” Jane asked Katherine curiously, looking down at the girl’s lockscreen as a notification flashed. They were waiting around for the others to finish getting ready, before heading out for some more sightseeing.

“Aragon sent it to me,” she replied, picking up her phone to respond to Anna’s text.

“Why that one?”

“It’s my favourite photo of my mums.” At this, Parr’s head looked up from where she had been writing in her notebook, eyes wide. Jane looked equally shocked.

“Mums?” There was no hostility in Jane’s voice, only curiosity. Katherine returned her phone to the table at the question, turning her attention to the blonde queen.

“Well you’re my mum and now you’re with Cathy so she’s my other mum. Maybe I can call her Mama, so we don’t get confused.” There was a moment of silence in the room, no-one knowing what to say.

“It doesn’t work that way, love.” Jane spoke first, looking between the young girl in front of her and her partner on the other side of the room. Catherine looked at the teen in complete shock; tears running down her face. There was another minute of silence, both Katherine and Jane waiting for Parr to say something.

“You think of me as a mother?” Her voice was quiet and uncertain.

“Yes,” Katherine said, as if the answer was obvious. “You and Jane are my mums, Catherine is my grandmother, Anne is my cousin and Anna is my girlfriend. We’re just like one big family.” Both Jane and Catherine were openly crying now, tears cascading down their faces.

“Did I say something wrong?” Katherine looked between the two women, utterly confused about what was causing their reactions.

“No, love,” Jane responded, pulling Katherine into a hug. Parr made her way over the room to join them.

“One big family,” Catherine whispered, stroking Katherine’s hair. “I love you, kid.”


	12. Chapter 12

The queens all decided that for the last night of their trip, they would go out clubbing together. Their entire experience of Paris so far had been a pretty big disaster, so it was time to end it all with a fun night out. They began with a dinner, which was a short affair, primarily due to several wandering hands under the table. Though no-one would ever admit it, it was pretty obvious.

The club was loud and packed, and Katherine and Anna immediately pulled away from the group. Parr shouted a ‘drink responsibly!’ after them, ignoring their rolled eyes. Anne and Aragon went straight to the dance floor, while Jane and Parr headed to a booth after grabbing some drinks, in hopes of giving the younger queen time to adjust to the noise.

“Is it too loud?” Jane asked, sliding in to sit opposite Catherine, holding her hand under the table.

“I’ll get used to it.” Jane was uncertain, but remained quiet; she had bought Parr’s headphones in case it got too much for her. Parr grabbed a shot and downed it, face scrunching up at the bitter taste.

“That probably wasn’t a good idea,” Jane smirked at her reaction, picking up a shot herself.

“I want to have fun.”

“You can have fun, regardless.”

“Yeah. But I want this kind of fun.” Jane made a mental note to tally how much alcohol Catherine had. Which was unfortunately thrown out the window as she managed to get herself drunk as well.

\------

Anne sat at the edge of the bar, watching as Aragon danced with some guy. There was a pang of jealousy in her heart-she should be there with her instead-but she remained quiet, sipping her drink alone. She planned to leave early, not wanting torture herself about the situation, until the man dancing with Catherine moved his hands down off her waist, verging on groping her ass. They were now nearly grinding together, their faces far too close for Anne’s liking. She slammed her glass down and stumbled over to the pair, focussing on not falling over in her drunken state.

“Get off of her!” She shouted over the music, pushing the guy weakly away from the Spanish queen. He looked startled for a second before putting his hands up and slipping back into the pulsing crowd of people.

“Anne!” Catherine said in surprise. “I thought you didn’t want to dance.” Anne just shook her head, lifting her arms to hold onto Catherine’s waist tightly. “Have I mentioned I like you, Anne?” Catherine slurred, looking into the younger woman’s eyes and wrapping her arms around her neck.

“Once or twice.” The response was low and sultry, whispered in her ear. Tingles ran down Catherine’s spine at Anne’s voice. She turned around, holding Anne’s arms in hers just under her chest. Anne grinded into her, kissing the back of her neck. “You’re such a tease,” she said, tightening her hold on Catherine’s hands.

“Back to the hotel?” Catherine questioned, turning back around to see Boleyn’s response.

“Right now.”

\------

Jane and Parr walked around the nearby park; having left to give Catherine an escape from the noise. They chatted quietly, hushing each other in a fit of giggles when one of them got loud enough to disturb the people living in the apartments nearby. They held hands, swinging their arms as the stumbled along. Stopping suddenly, Parr gasped.

“The stars!” She said excitedly, pointing up at the sky as if Jane wasn’t sure where to look.

“They’re beautiful.” Jane replied, voice wistful.

“Like you.” Jane rolled her eyes, looking at Catherine disappointedly.

“You’re so drunk. That was pathetic.” The younger queen only giggled, moving in to kiss her girlfriend.

“You still love me.” There was a moment of silence as the words she had just spoken sunk in. Jane turned to Parr in shock, letting go of her hand suddenly in surprise. Catherine immediately fixed her eyes on the ground, face flushing as she realised her mistake. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.” Her voice trembled, breaking Jane’s heart. She turned around to leave, but was stopped by Jane’s hand around her arm.

“Don’t go,” she pleaded, eyes now filled with tears. Catherine nodded her head slightly, turning back around. “I wasn’t at all imagining this moment to be like this.” Her words were still slightly slurred as she clutched both of Parr’s hands in her own. “But I need to tell you now. From the moment we became friends I knew we had something special.” Catherine smiled at this, now looking directly into Jane’s eyes. “Every time I look at you my heart flutters. That first night in the hotel room? I felt like I was falling when I realised my feelings for you, Catherine. I love everything about you. I love the way you can fall asleep anywhere, I love the way you blush so easily, I love when you always come to me on Monday mornings, and we can spend time together with just us.”

Catherine was also crying now, chin trembling as she tried to stay quiet and not burst into ugly, messy sobs. “I love when you stim so much that I can feel that you’re right beside me, I love how invested you are in everything you do, and I also love your body. You’re really, really hot. And pretty.” Parr chuckled at this, knowing Jane would be mortified when she remembered her drunken rambling tomorrow. “I love you, Catherine.” Parr smiled brightly, reaching up her hand to wipe the remaining tears off Jane’s cheeks.

“I love you, too, Jane.” Jane pulled Catherine in for a hug as they both whispered ‘I love you’ over and over. Holding hands and looking up at the starry night, they couldn’t be happier.


End file.
